A philosophy-major friend told me he knew of no guides to Kant's _Critique of Pure Reason_. Luckily, I found this, and it's been a godsend. Kant's First Critique is profound and revolutionary, and essential to any history of philosophy. But he's difficult in many ways: he defines existing words in new ways, deals with abstract concepts that are difficult to understand, and his prose is often impenetrably thick.



_Accessing Kant_ is very helpful to someone making his or her way through the Critique. It opens with two chapters placing Kant in the philosophical context of his times. Then it proceeds through the Critique section by section, highlighting key passages, and explaining aspects of Kant's writing that are difficult to comprehend on first encountering them. Without dumbing down Kant's thinking at all, Rosenberg presents Kant's arguments in more understandable language, and often provides thought-experiments or examples to guide your way.



One minor complaint I have is that some key terms that might be familiar to those with a philosophy background --- e.g., esse, concipi, percipi, just in case x --- are not defined. (They mean, respectively, mode of being, to be conceived, to be perceived, and if-and-only-if x.) And don't expect this to be a Cliffs' Notes. Even when explained in clearer language, Kant is still difficult, and I found myself reading some of Rosenberg's chapters more than once before I really understood the idea that what Kant was trying to express.



But this book is excellent. It's useful to read a chapter first, then read the chapter of Kant to which it refers. There've been many times when I've turned to it after reading a passage of Kant that seemed impenetrable, and suddenly the meaning became clear. If not for this book, I probably would've abandoned the _Critique_ partway through.



I highly recommend _Accessing Kant_ for any first-time reader of Kant's _Critique of Pure Reason_ who wants to fully understand the ideas being expressed in the _Critique_.

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